Connection: Prequel to 'April Fool?'
A/N: It is advised that you read 'April Fool?' first. It's not compulsory, I just want you to read it!
Usual disclaimers apply.
Part 1:
It had been a long day at The Talon and Lois felt totally drained. All she wanted to do was soak in a hot bath, watch some TV and curl up for the night before her next shift. At least she was going to see her cousin tomorrow for the first time in a while and that cheered her up a bit.
She had just finished towelling herself dry in the bathroom when she heard the Kent's back door slam shut.
Clark had been working the farm the last couple of days while his parents were spending a couple of days in Metropolis taking a well earned break. She was impressed with his attitude, not many teenagers would, or even could, manage a farm single handed and yet Clark seemed to cope quite easily. He sometimes showed a maturity far beyond his years, not that she would ever admit her admiration to him.
As she rubbed her hair with the towel she looked to the corner of the bathroom where the laundry basket was stood catching sight of her right red blanket. She thought back to their first meeting in the cornfield, making her smile to herself.
She tied a knot in the belt on her dressing gown, wrapped a towel around her head and opened the door, marching out straight into a brick wall, or at least straight into Clark Kent which was pretty much the same thing, falling hard on her back side.
"Woah! Sorry Lois." Clark reached down offering his hand to help Lois up.
"Jeez Smallville, you shouldn't have been a quarterback, you should have been a nose tackle." She took his hand and he hoisted her easily to her feet.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched on his face.
She looked down at Clark's hand still holding hers. She withdrew it self-consciously and brushed herself down. "Yeah, sure. Pride's a little dented is all."
"Lucky your pride's so well padded then!" Clark smiled the famous smile to take any cruelty out of his words, and took the punch on his shoulder in equally good humour.
"Real funny Kent. Anyway, I thought you were catching up with Lana tonight?"
"She's coming back with Chloe tomorrow now so we're all going to meet in the Talon tomorrow morning."
"Oh great! So I've gotta serve the brat pack at work tomorrow!"
"Come on Lois, you can take a break and join us. I know you'll want to catch up with Chloe."
"Hmm! Good Plan – it leaves you to chat to the pink princess on your own."
"I'm over her Lois. I've told you before we're just good friends now." Clark felt that the comment was a little unnecessary. He was thinking of Lois and how she had said that she was missing her cousin, but as normal it always returned to his now non-existent relationship with Lana.
"Sorry Smallville. I just can't buy the 'just good friends' line. I've heard it so many times from so many people, and knowing how you've obsessed over her for so long, well let's just say I'm no fool."
Clark felt his anger rising. "Well you can say it. I need a bit more proof!"
With that he marched off into the bathroom to take his shower, the door slamming shut behind him.
Lois watched him go. There was her 'mature farm-boy' theory blown right out of the water, although maybe she was being a bit unfair on him. She had pressed his buttons a bit. But then again why shouldn't she? She enjoyed doing it, and hell, she was damn good at it!
Oh well, a cold shower should cool him off a bit. She smiled to herself, knowing that's exactly what he was about to get as she went downstairs to make two steaming mugs of hot chocolate.
Part 2:
Outside the snow began to fall, whispering gently against the window panes of the Kent farm house. In the yard the snow began to settle on the freezing ground and on the out-buildings, giving the impression of a pristine new world, unspoilt by human contact.
Clark looked out of the window at the wintry tableau and felt calmed by the sound of the persistent hiss of the flakes on glass. He really wasn't bothered about the cold shower. He didn't find it particularly uncomfortable, but he knew he had to keep up appearances. He dried off and quickly got dressed, deliberately selecting a flannel shirt he knew Lois hated.
"Hey Lois! Thanks for using all the hot water – again." He called coming down the stairs, surprised to be greeted at the bottom by Lois holding out a mug of hot chocolate for him.
"Don't mention it Smallville." She smiled sweetly at him as he took the mug from her. "That should warm you up a bit." She ruffled his hair before going to the living room and sitting on the couch, reminding Clark of the time she had dunked him at the rally last year. He smiled at the memory.
"So Clark, what are you doing tonight now Lana's blown you off?"
Clark joined Lois in the living room. "Lois, I've told there's nothing between…."
He looked down to see Lois smiling at him "Too easy Smallville. Way too easy." She pulled her blanket over legs, trying to keep the cold at bay.
He rolled his eyes, knowing that it had been too easy. Lois had a gift for finding the wrong thing to say at exactly the wrong time to him, and she used it mercilessly. Again, he didn't mind it much. Quite often it brought him out of self involved moping sessions which were quite frequent after his split with Lana. With Lois about though they became less common but it didn't stop Lois winding him up and reeling him in.
He sat down sighing heavily.
"So, come on then Smallville, what are you doing tonight?"
"Oh, you know. The usual. Put on my tux', have the chauffer drop me at the Hilton in central Metropolis, dance with the debutants 'til the early hours, return about six and start my chores."
"Still in your tux'?"
"Of course. Why not? Then again I may just sit here and watch TV, what do you think?"
"Well as my cocktail dress is at the dry cleaners I won't be able to join you at the Hilton so you're welcome to sit here and watch Sleepless in Seattle with me."
"You're kidding me! That's a chick flick Lois."
Lois looked down at herself "Last time I checked I pretty much fit the bill, don't you think?"
Clark cleared his throat self consciously. He would be lying if he said he hadn't noticed that Lois was very, very much a part of the opposite gender.
Lois noticed his discomfort and found it very amusing. "So, you have noticed!"
"Having to clean up your underwear after you've been in the bathroom gave me a bit of a clue Lois."
Clark flopped down onto the couch, happy that he got a dig back.
"Oh Yeah? Did you like them Clark? Which was your favourite colour? Did you like the pink, maybe that's your colour?"
Clark reddened a deep scarlet. Lois was loving this, he knew it, but for some reason it was a topic that he didn't mind continuing. He surprised both himself and Lois by answering "Actually I was quite taken with the dark red, but I think my favourite was the midnight blue."
He rested his arms across the back of the couch and leant back, his right arm stretched behind Lois who angled her body toward him.
"Wow Clark! You even know the shades."
"I'm full of surprises Lois."
She leant a little closer to him. She could feel the heat of his breathing against her face. "Yes you are aren't you?"
Clark felt himself drawn towards Lois, his arm slid off the back of the couch and around Lois' shoulders.
It was as if somebody had hypnotised Lois and had then clicked their fingers. As soon as Clark's arm touched her she jumped up off the couch. She grabbed the still half full mugs and asked "Top-up Clark?" cocking her head at an angle and looking innocently as if nothing had happened.
Clark stood directly in front of her, and took the mugs from her unresisting hands. He looked into her eyes wondering just what had nearly happened. "My turn Lois." He smiled wickedly at her "Let me top you up!"
That seemed to break the increasing tension. "I'll just have the chocolate thanks Smallville."
They both chuckled as Clark went into the kitchen to freshen their drinks. Lois sat back down on the couch and switched on the DVD player and waited for Clark to come back before watching her movie.
The snow fell heavier outside and Lois pulled her blanket up to her chin, settling in for the night.
Part 3:
Lois lay comfortably on the couch, her head resting on its arm, snuggled in her blanket. Her bare feet rested on Clarks' lap. She was surprised that he was quiet virtually all the way through. He sat, absently rubbing her feet, keeping them warm. She felt in that cosy fuzzy state of mind just before sleep. Finally the end credits rolled and the moment was shattered.
"This is so contrived! It's always so nearly - then it doesn't happen, then it's nearly again, but in the end it works out for them! Life just doesn't work that way." Clark waved his hand in the general direction of the TV as if it would prove his point.
"What would you know? You haven't got a romantic bone in your body Smallville." Lois turned from the set towards Clark, eyelids still heavy.
"I have my moments!" he replied indignantly.
"Oh yeah?" She lowered her voice and did an awful impression "Hey Lana! Wanna mosey on over to the hoedown at the barn-raising in Edgars' field? Yeehah!"
"Come on Lois. I do not sound like that."
"Sure you do Clark. This is Smallville – everyone that comes from here sounds like that."
"Well Lois, it appears you don't know everything after all. I don't come from here."
"Well you've lived here most of your life. What's with the adoption thing anyway. Where do your folks come from originally?"
Clark turned his attention to the window and watched the snow fall in the porch light. He wondered what he should say. He couldn't tell her the truth but he didn't want to lie to Lois for some reason. The white feathers gently kissed the window, melting slowly on contact with the marginally warmer glass pane. He decided on a cryptic approach, answering while still concentrating on the snow outside.
"Up north."
Lois bit her lip, wondering if she had over-stepped the mark. She had never found out what had happened to his biological parents and the reaction she had just got told her that maybe it wasn't a subject to pursue. She swung her legs off Clarks lap and edged up the couch to sit next to him, still clutching her blanket. She put a caring arm around his shoulder and rested the other on his leg.
"Sorry Clark." She spoke softly. "I shouldn't have bought it up."
Clark turned to her and smiled. "It's okay. I was too young to really know them anyway. Lois?"
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
"What? Why?"
"I don't know. You seem like you're being kind of, well, I don't know how to put this, but……nice!"
Lois smiled. "It's late. It's cold. I've just watched one of my favourite and one of the most romantic movies of all time. It must be screwing with my brain."
"Don't move!" Clark suddenly got up leaving Lois sat next to thin air. He went to the DVD player, rummaged around next to it for a moment, then put in a disc before returning to his original position next to Lois.
She turned to watch the set, waiting for the disc to load. "What are you putting on?"
"Well, if we're doing favourite movies it's only fair you sit through mine."
Lois put both hands in front of her face. "Oh, dear God, no! I'm not feeling that nice! What have we got then? Arnie? Jean Claude Van Damme? Please not Stephen Seagal?"
Clark smiled down at her as the black and white menu screen started. He rested his arm across her shoulders.
"I hope you can keep a secret. This goes no further Lane!" she looked from behind her hands at Clark who had used her surname in a similar fashion to her father giving an order to one of his troops. He pressed play on the remote and she turned her attention to the screen.
"You have got to be joking!"
"This film reminds me of what's best about the human condition. Battling against the odds. The hope. The spirit. The joy. The faith. The best of humanity encapsulated in a single story-telling."
Lois was considering a throwing-up comment but decided that watching her real favourite movie of all time was a better option.
She rested her head against Clark's shoulder and settled in to watch the movie.
"Well I guess I made you watch mine, so it's only fair."
His arm dropped from the back of the couch and onto her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.
"Cold isn't it?" she muttered, drawing her blanket across and over both of them.
'Miracle on 34th Street' started.
Part 4:
It was midnight now. The film had finished and the DVD menu was displayed again, and Clark and Lois were oblivious to it.
The blanket covered them both, trapping their body heat inside. Lois' head rested easily on Clarks' shoulder, her eyes were closed, her breathing deepening as she closed in on a comfortable sleep.
Clark was looking down at her resting and smiled feeling at ease with her warm breath on his neck and her arm wrapped around his waist. He pulled her in closer which made her snuggle in even more.
"Hey Smallville," she muttered fuzzily "I think the film's finished."
"It has!" he confirmed in a quiet, soft voice.
"It wasn't too bad I suppose."
"For someone without a romantic bone in his body?"
Her eyes flickered open and she lifted her head and smiled up at him. "The guy got the girl and they lived happy ever after. It's a dream we all have, but it's all a bit too good to be true isn't it?"
"Now who's being unromantic? It's a cliché I know, but I believe there's someone out there for everyone." His eyes twinkled mischievously "even you!"
Lazily, she reached behind her, grabbed a cushion and swung it against Clarks' chest in a long arc before resting her head against his shoulder again. She dropped the cushion and pulled the stray blanket over them both again.
A silence ensued, but it was hardly awkward or uncomfortable. Both minds were entertaining ideas that neither would have had just a few weeks before.
"Clark?"
"Yes?"
"What if the someone for me isn't out there?"
"Well I believe it, especially for someone like you Lois. You have so much to offer a very lucky someone."
She looked up into his earnest eyes. "Kent, sometimes you're an idiot!" The response was terse.
"What? I was being nice!" Clark was bemused.
Their faces were close now. Lois' frustration surfaced, "I didn't mean that. I meant, what if that someone for me wasn't out there, but was in here." Lois voiced what they were both thinking a moment ago and her face flushed, realising that things would never be the same from this moment between her and her farmboy.
They both froze, eyes locked together.
Had she really said it? Maybe she just thought it. The shocked look on Clarks' face confirmed it, she definitely said it. What was her next step? Maybe she should just laugh it off. Yes, that was the Lois thing to do - 'Had you going there Smallville!' – That's the way out.
Clark stared at her. Had she just said what he thought she said? The shocked look on Lois' face confirmed it, she definitely said it. He bit back the 'Try and joke your way out of this Lane!' comment.
Her wide eyes were asking his something that only their hearts and souls could answer. It was not an answer he could give, he didn't know himself, but he also wanted to find out.
Clark leant in and kissed her lips, forestalling any smart-ass comment from the famous Lane wit.
Lois' eyes widened in surprise but she didn't pull away. Slowly her eyes closed and she returned the kiss.
It wasn't a famous kiss. It wasn't a kiss that would go down as one of history's most passionate.
It was just a kiss. Their first. This night when the snow was falling and the world outside was silent, motionless and calm would be remembered by them both later in their lives when they were apart, when they felt alone or simply when it snowed.
Their lips parted and their eyes opened.
This time the silence was awkward. It was broken by Clark "Look, Lois, I don't know if that was really a good…….."
He was silenced by Lois closing in and kissing him again. This kiss was passionate. The heat and intensity was something new to Clark. Lois was experiencing something different also. It wasn't just a kiss because of the moment, between two people who at that moment only had each other, because of the romantic movies, because of their closeness, it was something they had fought since the moment they had met but now it felt right.
Again their lips parted. Now their path was sealed and it lay in the same direction, sometimes it may diverge but it would always come together again, they would always come together again. The connection was made.
"You told your sister my charms were an acquired taste Lois." Cark breathed heavily.
"Y'know, I think I've acquired them." She responded kissing his neck.
Clark lifted her chin "Good!" and kissed her lips tenderly.
Lois drew gently away, reluctantly.
Lois' eyes held Clarks. "Smallville, I think it's time for bed."
END